Nineteen fishermen were missing from two towns in the coastal Grande-Anse region of southern Haiti, it said, adding that in the same region 322 people were staying in shelters and 20 people sought shelter in the Nord-Ouest department.

Haiti has been grappling with a heavy rainy season this year and is recovering from Category-4 Hurricane Matthew, which devastated much of the country’s south-west last October.

The impoverished nation is in a hurricane-prone area and is especially susceptible to natural disasters because of poor infrastructure and a lack of government resources.